Greene County Development Director Paul Newman Jr. hosted the event Friday at Fairborn’s Holiday Inn. The county saw growth in all but one economic category, Newman told the crowd.
“Residential construction is up over 9 percent, or $17 million … Commercial construction is up almost 16 percent, or $46.1 million,” Newman said. “There was one key metric that was down from last year. Sales tax collection dropped 1 percent from 2017 to just under $27 million, due specifically to Medicaid providers not having to pay sales tax in 2018.”
Total construction valuation went up 13 percent from $471 million in 2017 to $534 million last year, according to the report.
Residential growth was strongest in Sugarcreek and Beavercreek townships and Fairborn; commercial building was highest in the city of Beavercreek, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Sugarcreek Twp. and Fairborn, according to the report.
The unemployment rate in Greene held steady at 4.3 percent, slightly above the national and below the state averages. Total wages reached an all time high at $2.7 million, Newman said.
“Workforce development, attraction, and retention remains an issue, not just for the county, but the nation. Competition for skilled workers is fierce,” Newman said.
There are now “new collar jobs” in the information technology, manufacturing and health-care industries that might require training and certifications, Newman said, but not four-year degrees.
Lodging revenue in 2018 was more than $1.2 million, up 4 percent from 2017, according to the county’s convention and visitors bureau. A larger gain was expected, Newman said, but the the brief government shutdown and hotel rooms closing for renovations had an impact.
The events that brought in the most people to the region included the Dayton Hamvention, the Haunted Classic Youth Soccer tournament and the Air Force Marathon. Those events combined brought an estimated 76,000 visitors and had an estimated economic impact of $35 million.
Specific municipalities were highlighted for the completion of significant projects, including Cresco Labs medical marijuana facility in Yellow Springs and the REACH Center and Hampton Inn and Suites in Xenia.
In the future, the county expects growth in healthcare and social assistance, educational services, retail and professional/scientific/technology services.
“Efforts will be directed toward creating a diversified economic base, and attracting, developing, and retaining a competitive workforce,” Newman said. “Our County has been very successful in attracting residents and visitors because of its wide range of community assets and quality of place. Preserving, enhancing and promoting these community assets is vital to our development initiative as we move forward.”
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State Rep. Rick Perales joined dozens of business and elected leaders for the breakfast buffet and presentation, which included honoring a new set of “Greene County Achievers” as well as the presentation of the E.J. Nutter Award.
“Greene County just continues to be a great place to live, work and raise a family,” said Perales, a former county commissioner. “With the base as the emphasis for our growth ... We’ve got a diverse slew of award winners, from engineers, scientists, educators, to not-for-profits. It’s nice that once a year we can get together like this briefly and just celebrate the successes.”
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